Amazon Will Increase Prices For ‘Prime’ Members

Amazon has announced that they will raise their 'Prime' membership prices by 20% beginning in May, citing rising costs of operating the program.

Despite claiming a quarterly profit of $1.6 billion and paying zero federal taxes in 2017, Amazon says the cost of shipping, fuel and digital programming are the reason for the increase.

The 20% increase you'll see means the annual price for Amazon Prime will go up to $119 per year, from $99 currently.

For new members the change will happen on May 11, and existing members will see the increase on or by June 16.

One of the excuses from Amazon's Chief Financial Officer Brian Olsavsky as told to the Wall Street Journal is that "in 2014, there were 20 million items eligible for two-day shipping, now there are more than 100 million, Olsavsky said.

I'm not sure, but I think if you're making $5.6 billion and paying no taxes there really isn't a reason to punish your consumers.

What do you think? Is Amazon justified in the increase or are they being a little bit ridiculous considering they sign up new customers every day?